Mason&#39;s line holder



July 10, 1951 R. ANDERS 2,559,697

- MASONS LINE HOLDER Filed Nov. 13, 1946 f/G. J.

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Patented July 10, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MASON S: LINE HOLDERRoy Anders, Center Township, Marshall County, Ind.

Application November 13, 1946, Serial No. 709,513

(01. ss ss) 1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in masons line holders, andparticularly to a line holder of the type which is adapted to be held inplace by the tension of a line drawn between the same and a similarholder at the opposite end of the line, said line holders engagingopposite ends of a wall structure.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a device of thischaracter which is simple, sturdy and compact, which is easy to use, andwhich effectively holds a masons line without interference by the linewith proper seating of the holder.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which permitsthe line to be positioned flush with the plane of the wall structure toform a guide for the laying of masonry, which is close spaced to themasonry and at the same time permits the line to apply a tension thereonatsuch a position as to draw upon the holder in 'amanner which insureseffective clamping of the holder to the building structure by the line.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which is smallin size to facilitate convenient storage thereof, but which,nevertheless, accommodates the laying of masonry with the mortar jointsbetween the masonry elements spaced in a Wide range of dimensions.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which is ofsubstantially L-shape and whose legshave inner surfaces disposed atright angles, one of said legs having a longitudinal line-receivinggroove in its inner face, and the other having a central slot extendingsubstantially the full length thereof with which said groovecommunicates, said first named leg having a line-anchorin member at itsouter surface and having integral laterally projecting portions at itsfree end.

Other objectswill be apparent from the following-specification. I Y x 1In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view illustrating the manner in which the d'evic'eis used.

.Fig. 2 is a longitudinal'sectional view' of the device taken on line 22of Fig. 4.

" Fig. 3 is an end view of the device.

1 Fig. 4 is an opposite end view of the device.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the device.

I Referring to the drawing which illustrates the preferred embodimentofthe invention, the numeral l0 designates amasonry wall which is formedfrom masonry elements l2, such as bricks, which are laid up inhorizontal courses and which are bonded together by mortar to formmortar joints Id. The wall construction may entail the use of anyconventional pattern of masonry. Likewise, while the wall hereinillustrated shows the masonry elements l2 as being laid in horizontalcourses, it will be apparent that the item may also be used in laying upwalls of stone or other masonry elements of irregular size Whosehorizontal joint lines may be somewhat broken and irregular for desiredpattern effects, but in the laying of which a horizontal guide isdesirable for proper performance of the work. The usual masons line IS,in the nature of a strong cord of the type well understood in the art,constitutes this horizontal guide. In common practice this line is strunbetween nails driven into the fresh mortar at opposite ends of thebuilding wall, which practice consumes time to insure proper locatin ofthe nails and also time to repoint the mortar surfaces after the nailshave been withdrawn therefrom. In this instance the line is anchored andheld in properly tensioned relation by my novel lineholder [8.

The line-holder I8 is preferablyformed of a light weight metal, such asaluminum or magnesium, although it may be formed of a plastic materialsuch as a synthetic resin material, or of iron or steel. The line holderis generally of L-shape, as best seen in Figs. 2 and 5, and has a legportion 20 and a second le portion 22. The leg 20 is preferably of alength slightly less than one-half the width of a conventional buildingbrick, such as a face brick, and the leg 22 is somewhat shorter than theleg 20. It will be understood, however, that these dimensions areillustrative and may vary within a wide range. The inner surface 24 ofthe leg 20 is preferably flat and lies in a plane perpendicular to thefiat inner surface 26 of the le 22. A groove 28 extends longitudinallyand preferably centrally of the face 24 of the le 20 for its fulllength. A longitudinal slot 30 is formed centrally in the leg 22 andpreferably extends for the full length thereof, as best illustrated inFigs. 2 and 3. The groove 28 is of a size and depth to receive the linel6 therein in such a manner that the same does not project beyond thesurface of the face 24. Each of the legs 20 and 22 is preferably taperedlongitudinally whereby the thickness of the L-shaped member is greatestat the junction between said legs,thereby affording requisite strengthfor the unit. Each of the leg may be provided with one or morelongitudinally extending grooves in its outer surface to reduce thecross-sectional area and the weight of the le and provide strengtheningribs. For example, longitudinal grooves 32 may be formed in the leg 29to define ribs 34 on opposite sides thereof, and the longitudinal groove36 may be formed in at least a portion of the leg to define the marginalreinforcing ribs 38.

In spaced relation to the juncture of the legs,

the leg 2i: is provided with a line-anchoring memher do." Thisline-anchoring member projects from the outer surface of the leg andpreferably constitutes an integral substantially rectangular projectingblock of metal whose opposite sides are grooved or undercut at 22whereby said projecting member is formed in substantially T-shape. withtheir lower surface portions substantially in the plane of the outerface of the leg 29.

At the outer or free end of the leg 26 is provided a pair of laterallyprojecting portions 44 whose inner surface lies in the same plane as theface it of the leg 29. The parts '35 form rigid wings at the freeend ofthe leg which project substantially laterally thereoeyond asillustrated, whereby the width of the member at the points 64 issubstantially greater than the widest mortar joint commonly used bymasons.

In the use of the device, one end of the line 36 is passed through thegroove 28 of one of the members i8, being likewise passed through theslot 3G to pass around the end of the leg 2:; at the juncture of thelegs 29 and 22. The end of the line is then passed forwardly along theouter surface of the leg 29 and is wound around the member 49 seating inthe groove 42 by which it is firml clamped and retained when it istightly looped by virtue of the frictional wedging or clamping action ofthe grooves upon the tightly drawn coils of the line which are seatedtherein.

The line holder to which the line has been secured as aforesaid is thenanchored at one end of the wall with the surface 26 of the leg 22bearing flat against that end surface of the wall and the line is drawntaut and its opposite end is passed through the groove 23 and the slot39 of a corresponding line holder positioned in horizontal alignmentwith the first named line holder, and the opposite end of the line isthen drawn tight and anchored by coiling thereof around the memberprojection i9 and in the groove 42, as hereinabovedescribed.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the tension applied by theline acts in plane substantially flush with the surface of the buildingwall and acts directly longitudinally upon the legs so of the oppositeholders by virtue of the passage around the same through the groove 28and the slot 39 of the construction, which is best seen in Fig. 2.Consequently, the tension of the lines serves to draw the oppositeholders firmly against the opposite ends of the masonry structure withthe surfaces 26 of the legs 22 thereof permitted to lie naturally inplanes perpendicular to the line and flush with the end surfaces of thewall at which they are anchored. This positions the line in such amanner that it forms a guide close to the working surface and therebyavoids such spacing of the line as would occasion possibility of erroras different mortar joints are viewed by the worker at progressivelydifferent angles as different courses of the work are laid up. At thesame time it is not necessary to disturb the previous work in any way,as by driving nails in fresh mortar; also, it will be apparfhe groovesare preferably positioned ent that, even though the line may betensioned, it still has sufficient resilience to permit manipulation ofthe line holders to advance the same from step to step as the height ofthe wall increases.

While the width of the legs of the holder is slightly greater than thegreatest width of a mortar line, it is desirable that that width be heldto the lowest limits possible so that the size and the weight of theholder may be at a minimum to facilitate storage and handling of theunit.

Also, there is some possibility that under certain circumstances it maybe desirable to so position the holder that either the upper or thelower edge thereof is out of contact with a masonry element. For suchpurposes, the extensions All serve to stabilize the holders and insurefirm positioning thereof. In other words, by virtue of the fact that thewings as project laterally from the leg 28, the user is assured that atthe free end of the leg 29 a firm supporting face engagement with themasonry elements on opposite sides of the mortar joints will be obtainedunder all working conditions and regardless of the width of the mortarjoint. The only condition in which one of the projections 54 might nothave engagement with masonry elements on opposite sides of the mortarjoints would be in a case where the member was so positioned withreference to the mortar joint that the top of one of the wings wouldproject over the mortar joint. However, it will be apparent in such acondition, due to the proportion of the parts, at least a part of theleg 22 on opposite sides of the groove 39 would engage a masonry elementand thus procure at the leg 22 instead of the wings M the desiredstabilizing anchorage.

While the construction herein described and illustrated is preferred, itwill be understood that changes may be made therein within the scope ofthe appended claim without departing from the V spirit of the invention.

I claim:

, A masons line holder comprising an L-shaped member having rigid legportions whose inner surfaces are flat throughout their full extent andpositioned perpendicularly to each other, one leg having a centrallongitudinal groove in its inner surface extending the full lengththereof and adapted to receive a line, the other leg having alongitudinal slot therein with which said groove communicates, a, lineanchoring member carried by said first leg and projecting from anintermediate portion of the outer face thereof, and rigid wingsprojecting laterally from the free end of said first leg at oppositesides thereof with their inner surfaces flush with the inner surface ofsaidfirst leg.

. ROY ANDERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in thefile ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

